Thursday, March 28, 2013

I'm going to be
stepping away from design for a bit to focus on my fine art and big
table farm -I've spent the last few days contacting my clients and letting them know and transitioning them so no one gets left hi and dry...

To those of you I have spoken with, thank you for your amazing and enthusiastic support of my decision.

It's bitter sweet of course as I've done about 125 wine labels and have build a portfolio of which I am very proud and worked with some amazing wineries. The 'sweet' part is I will be painting MUCH more and partnering with Brian on our winery project with even more focus. So you can expect many more paintings appearing on this blog in the coming months show announcements you name it .. I'm going for it..

I'm a painter always have been and I hope to make my income doing only that ... wish me luck...

Monday, March 4, 2013

Greetings to all, we hope this finds you well on the
only day of the year that is an imperative command, March forth!

We are pleased to have our first Pinot noirs from 2011
to share as well as chardonnay, and of course syrah. The 2011 growing
season in Oregon was marked by being second only to 2010 in coolest in
recent memory. However, September was warm and dryer than normal and
helped ripen the fruit in a way that has given us richly complex wines
with great tannins. Early October rains were countered by three weeks
of dry and we picked at the very last minute, processing late into the
evening on Halloween. We consider ourselves lucky to be working with
older vineyards and great farmers – I have been bullish on 2011 wines
since before they were even picked. They are almost identical to the
2010’s in standard metrics, due to almost identical amounts of “degree
growing days” measure of heat, sunshine etc, but the warm September has
provided another layer of ripeness/complexity that will be rewarding as
the wines continue to develop in the years to come. This cool growing
season with a warm finish has created wines with an exciting combination
of crispness and low alcohol, yet still have ripe, dark fruit and good
tannins.We are excited to have these wines to offer!We are finally in a position to hold wines for a little
longer before releasing them. Bottled early last September they have
moved beyond the awkwardness of being newly minted and are beginning to
show their true character.The 2011’s already released, the LPR (laughing pig rose)
last spring and Pinot Gris last fall were well received and quickly
sold out. We hope and anticipate for equal response to the rest of our
vintage.We added two vineyards in 2011 – Bieze, from which we
got chardonnay and Pinot noir, and Sunnyside, planted in 1970 and farmed
meticulously verging on obsessive by Lucy Winarski and Tom Owen since
1985. This will be included in our fall release, along with Wirtz,
Resonance, Cattrall Pinot noir and Brooks Estate Riesling.

The WinesChardonnay!Having worked with chardonnay extensively at Neyers
Vineyards and Marcassin I am excited to finally be able to offer our
own. Making chardonnay is deceptively simple – squeeze grapes, put
juice in barrel, ferment, age and then put wine in bottle. And yet
seemingly small adjustments make a world of difference...For a variety of reasons chardonnay is not widely
planted in Oregon, but finally we have managed to find some. 60% of the
fruit comes from the Bieze vineyard, which shares a fence line with the
eponymous seven springs vineyard. It is a recent planting (done
beautifully) and this is it’s first fruiting year- we look forward to
many more. The balance of the blend comes from the Wirtz vineyard which
dates back to the early 70’s and the chardonnay block is a testament to
the difficult early days of chardonnay in Oregon. Someone attempted to
replace the chardonnay by grafting over to Pinot noir. Not all of the
grafts took so about 30% of the block is still chardonnay, but difficult
to pick since the plants are scattered throughout the one acre block.
Owners Ben Hawes and Brandon Lockhart obliged my desire to make
chardonnay and personally picked/lugged the ¾ of a ton of fruit that was
there.Barrel fermented in mixed aged French oak (no new oak)
to produce a lively wine of voluminous bouquet, wonderful palate and
crisp finish – very satisfying. Clare has already consumed more than
her fair share – if you want some be quick!136 cases – unfined, unfiltered and not cold stabilized – 42 per bottleAdorned with bees courtesy of Clare and her hives2011 Willamette valley Pinot noir – as I
am sure some of you have heard me say I am always amazed that the sum
total is greater than the parts when blending wine. This year’s
Willamette valley blend is no exception – it is a combination of new,
one used and neutral barrels from all our Pinot noir sites. It includes
aspects of whole cluster, balanced fruit and texture of sur lie aging.
It is a perfect synopsis of the vintage from our point of view, elegance
and complexity framed by balance and charm. As always, we make what we
love to eat and drink – this wine is no exception and we hope it will
be a frequent companion at your table as well. 519 cases, unfined and
unfiltered 38 per bottlePig tails of Petunia and Rose, maybe some of the best looking pigs to date!2011 Pelos Sandberg Pinot noir -Thank you to Don and Johanna, Lynne and Perry for
continuing to work with us. We buy two acres of Pinot noir from their
immaculately farmed vineyard. Don is easy to find during the growing
season – he is in the vineyard. When I show up to walk my blocks he is
always there, we share notes, thoughts and comparisons to previous
vintages. I was struck and excited by the darkness of the juice and the
ripeness of the seeds as we walked the rows in the fall of 2011. The
southwestern exposure, perfect elevation and mixture of soil types
create a wine that is luscious from the beginning. Dark fruits and cola
dominate aromatics and palate, rich mouth feel and ripe tannins make
this wine delicious in its youth. We hope you enjoy this bottling as
much as our inaugural efforts from this great site.192 cases, 45 per bottleDon’s clippers artfully drawn by Clare2010 syrah – once again, as much as we
love pinot, it is wonderful to work with syrah. They couldn’t be more
different and yet perfectly complimentary. An evening of pinot framed
by chardonnay and syrah is dreamy when paired with appropriate seasonal
foods. The cooler growing season in California has created a wine that
has elegance yet also the power of syrah that we know and love. It seems
to have all components in perfect proportions. Minimal handling in the
cellar have left this wine fresh and vibrant, we will cherish its
presence on the table for years to come.194 cases produced, unfined and unfiltered, 48 per bottleAnd of course, flatware on the labelThe wines of 2012 are also showing promise and we will
bottle a small amount of LPR at the end of march, we will most certainly
let you know when it is ready.

Farm newsOur pastures continue to improve as we do our best to
manage them with our nine (!) cows, Clare’s two stinks (horses) and the
chickens, and of course goateo who has the run of the place. Hopefully,
four of our cows are pregnant and will calve in June and the two steers
will be ready for harvest late July. Clare continues to learn the ways
of bees and the advance greeting team of Levi and Clementine are slowly
(slowly) learning some manners (Levi now jumps into your car instead of
on it). Otherwise, holding steady.Please let us know if you are in the area, we would love
to share our wines with you. Also we will be open Memorial day
weekend. And we have been invited to participate in the International
Pinot Celebration in July - tickets are available on there web site to
this great midsummer event.From our table to yours, Cheers! Brian and Clare